Manufacturing · head to head
ABB 800xA vs Emerson Ovation
ABB 800xA
Manufacturing
Distributed control system and process automation platform for continuous and hybrid process plants
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
Emerson Ovation
Energy
Distributed control system for power generation and water treatment plants
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: ABB 800xA licensing is by I/O count, controller count and workplace clients, and none of it is published, so two plants of similar size can be quoted very differently with no external benchmark to argue against.; Emerson Ovation nothing about the cost is published, and the licence is a minority of the total; engineering, I/O hardware and commissioning commonly exceed it, so a budget built from a software quote will be wrong by a large multiple.
- They diverge on capability: ABB 800xA covers Extended Automation, Emerson Ovation covers Power application libraries.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which ABB 800xA and Emerson Ovation actually diverge.
| Attribute | ABB 800xA | Emerson Ovation |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Windows | Windows, On-premise |
| Category | Manufacturing | Energy |
Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in ABB 800xA
- Extended Automation
- AC 800M controllers
- Connectivity servers
- Safety integration
- IEC 61850 electrical
- Batch management
- Information management
- Asset optimisation
Only in Emerson Ovation
- Power application libraries
- Ovation SIS
- Embedded historian
- NERC CIP tooling
- Virtualised controllers
- Simulation
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
ABB 800xA
- A refinery replacing operator consoles and control room infrastructure while keeping working field controllers in placenot Emerson Ovation
- A pulp and paper mill consolidating process, electrical and safety monitoring into a single operator workplacenot Emerson Ovation
- A mining operation that needs SIL 3 safety functions on the same network as process control rather than a separate safety systemnot Emerson Ovation
- A marine or offshore platform where ABB already supplies the electrical distribution and IEC 61850 integration removes a second systemnot Emerson Ovation
Emerson Ovation
- Replacing an end-of-life control system on a coal or gas unit during a planned outage, where the vendor must supply turbine control as well as plant controlnot ABB 800xA
- A municipal water authority standardising treatment plant control across several sites under one NERC-adjacent security regimenot ABB 800xA
- An IPP wanting the DCS and the safety instrumented system engineered in the same tool rather than integrated across two vendorsnot ABB 800xA
- Hydro operators needing IEC 61850 and DNP3 into a control system that also runs the balance of plantnot ABB 800xA
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
ABB 800xA
- Licensing is by I/O count, controller count and workplace clients, and none of it is published, so two plants of similar size can be quoted very differently with no external benchmark to argue against.
- Engineering and commissioning typically cost more than the software and controller hardware together, and that share is not visible in the initial ABB quotation, which prices the system rather than the project.
- It is Windows only for servers and workplaces, so the operating system lifecycle drives forced upgrade cycles that have nothing to do with your process.
- Once configured, the aspect object model and the specific integrator conventions used make handing the system to a different service provider expensive; ABB service contracts are effectively sticky.
- Software maintenance is an annual contract on top of the licence and lapsing it means you cannot take version upgrades, so the system quietly ages out of security support if the plant skips renewals to save money.
Emerson Ovation
- Nothing about the cost is published, and the licence is a minority of the total; engineering, I/O hardware and commissioning commonly exceed it, so a budget built from a software quote will be wrong by a large multiple.
- Ovation is power and water specific, so a group operating both power stations and chemical plants will end up running Ovation alongside DeltaV or a third-party DCS and paying for two engineering skill sets.
- The annual support and subscription contract is effectively mandatory: without it you lose access to security patches, which for a NERC CIP regulated asset is not a decision you can defer.
- Replacement is bounded by outage windows rather than by budget, so a decision to leave Ovation typically takes multiple years and cannot be reversed cheaply once started.
- Third-party engineering capability is much thinner than for Rockwell or Siemens platforms, so you are largely dependent on Emerson or a small partner pool for changes, and their day rates set the cost of every future modification.
Pricing, plan by plan
ABB 800xA
On request- ABB Ability System 800xA$undefined/year
- Licensed by I/O count, controller count and workplace clients
- Sold as a project through ABB or a certified partner
- Annual software maintenance contract priced separately
Emerson Ovation
On request- Ovation Automation Platform$undefined/year
- Priced by controller count, I/O point count and operator workstation
- Hardware, engineering and commissioning quoted with the software
- Annual support and subscription contract sold separately
Which should you pick?
Choose ABB 800xA if
- You need extended automation.
- You work on Windows.
- You also want ac 800m controllers.
Choose Emerson Ovation if
- You need power application libraries.
- You work on Windows, On-premise.
- You also want ovation sis.
Questions people ask
- Is ABB 800xA or Emerson Ovation better?
- Neither clearly leads. ABB 800xA starts at On request and Emerson Ovation at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, ABB 800xA or Emerson Ovation?
- ABB 800xA starts at On request and Emerson Ovation at On request.
- Does ABB 800xA or Emerson Ovation run on more platforms?
- ABB 800xA runs on Windows. Emerson Ovation runs on Windows, On-premise.
- What is ABB 800xA best used for?
- ABB 800xA is most often used for a refinery replacing operator consoles and control room infrastructure while keeping working field controllers in place, a pulp and paper mill consolidating process, electrical and safety monitoring into a single operator workplace, a mining operation that needs sil 3 safety functions on the same network as process control rather than a separate safety system, a marine or offshore platform where abb already supplies the electrical distribution and iec 61850 integration removes a second system. Of those, a refinery replacing operator consoles and control room infrastructure while keeping working field controllers in place and a pulp and paper mill consolidating process, electrical and safety monitoring into a single operator workplace are not what Emerson Ovation is typically brought in for.
- What can ABB 800xA do that Emerson Ovation cannot?
- ABB 800xA covers Extended Automation, AC 800M controllers, Connectivity servers, Safety integration. Emerson Ovation covers Power application libraries, Ovation SIS, Embedded historian, NERC CIP tooling.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
ABB 800xA: Is 800xA sold as a perpetual licence?
Yes, the system licence is perpetual, but a separate annual software maintenance agreement is required to receive updates and version upgrades.
Emerson Ovation: Is Ovation the same as DeltaV?
No. Ovation targets power generation and water; DeltaV targets chemicals, life sciences and refining. They are separate products with separate engineering tools and separate support organisations.
ABB 800xA: Can 800xA control non-ABB field hardware?
Yes. Connectivity servers front third-party PLC and DCS systems and legacy ABB families, which is the main reason it wins brownfield projects.
Emerson Ovation: Can I get a price without talking to Emerson?
No. There is no published price list, no trial and no self-service configurator. Every Ovation number comes through Emerson or a certified partner.
ABB 800xA: Does it replace a separate electrical SCADA?
It can. IEC 61850 substation integration is native, so many plants drop a separate electrical monitoring system.
Emerson Ovation: Does Ovation 4.0 mean I can stop buying Emerson hardware?
No. The software-defined architecture virtualises controllers, but the I/O and field interfaces are still Emerson hardware and are still the bulk of the equipment cost.
ABB 800xA: What is the realistic implementation timeline?
A full plant migration is measured in years, not months; phased cutovers of one unit at a time are the norm.
Emerson Ovation: What decides the price?
Controller count, I/O point count and the number of operator workstations, plus the engineering hours to configure the control logic for your plant.
Related pages
More on Emerson Ovation
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